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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nissan Group today announced total U.S. sales for April 2015 of 109,848 units, an increase of 5.7 percent over the prior year and an April record.

Nissan highlights:

Nissan Division set an April record at 99,869 sales in the month, an increase of 5.4 percent.

Overall sales of Nissan crossovers, trucks and SUVs set an April record, up 23.7 percent.

Nissan Rogue sales were up 44.5 percent to 21,767, setting an April record.

Sales of the Murano crossover, all-new since December 2014, increased 72.9 percent to 4,121.

Sentra sales increased 21.2 percent to 17,059 in April.

Infiniti today reported sales of 9,979 vehicles in the U.S. during April, an increase of 8.8 percent versus prior year.

Sales of the Q50 sports sedan were up 13.9 percent for its best April ever, while sales of the updated 2015 Q70 luxury performance sedan and new Q70L long wheelbase model had sales of 763, an increase of 114.9 percent.

The QX60 7-passenger luxury crossover was up 24.0 percent, making it its best April ever. In all, Infiniti crossovers and sport utility vehicles were up 17.2 percent over prior year.

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2018 Leaf versus 2017 BOLT Battery Life
Seems to be very straightforward and easy to understand in this comparison of Liquid thermal management of the BOLT battery versus the new Leaf Passive air thermal management of their battery.
This guy as a College professor has followed and torn into the EV auto's. He comes out stating that the New Leaf if not improved and clearly will not have the life that the BOLT will have for battery. Easy to follow and very interesting as he points out numerous issues with the Leaf and all the DO NOT DO, Example, do not plug it in right after driving it, do not use rapid DC chargers and do not leave the auto in a hot environment. This in comparison to you can Rapid Charge the BOLT, you can Plug it in right after driving, even the VOLT is superior to the Leaf based on this guys review and having his students rip into them to understand the tech better.
GM has built one of the best Thermal Management Battery packs.

The fate of the Nissan Z has been up the air for a number of years. One minute, it seems the Z will be killed off. The next, Nissan is figuring out how to keep the Z alive. This brings us neatly to a report from Autocar which says a new Z car is expected in 2020. But after reading this report, we have some questions as to the validity of this information.
According to "senior officials from Nissan," the new Z car has the codename of Z35 and will share a number of components with the Infiniti Q60 Coupe including the rear-drive platform and engines. Using the Q60's platform would make the Z a bit larger - the Q60's length is 17 inches longer and the wheelbase is about a foot longer.
Power will come from a twin-turbo 3.0L V6 engine from the Q50 and Q60 producing 400 horsepower. There will also be a high-performance NISMO model that will use a re-tuned version of the twin-turbo V6 to produce 475 horsepower and be paired with an all-wheel drive system.
But this report has a huge red flag.
Emphasis ours. The issue is that there will not be a 2018 Tokyo Moto Show. It is a bi-annual auto show. The last one took place in 2017, meaning the next one will not happen till 2019. This also puts a red flag on the reveal of the production model at the 2019 LA Auto Show.
This report comes a week after another rumor about the Z car was debunked. Japanese site Response reported that Nissan has asked their partner Mercedes-Benz on developing a new Z car. Using a Mercedes-Benz platform, the new Z would be offered with two engines. A 2.0L turbo-four from Mercedes as the base and the twin-turbo V6 from Infiniti. But as Japanese Nostalgic Car notes in their report, "the automotive rumor mill in Japan is like 1990s Motor Trend on crack." The partnership between Nissan and Diamler hit a rough patch earlier this year as Reuters reported that Infiniti would not use Mercedes' MFA2 modular platform due to cost issues. The new QX50 which was supposed to be the Infiniti vehicle to use this new platform would instead use its own unique platform.
Motor Trend would deliver the final nail in the coffin of this rumor. According to their sources, Mercedes and Nissan did talk about the possibility of working together on a new platform that would be shared between the Z and SLC roadster. But these talks reportedly went nowhere. Also, Mercedes is planning to kill off the SLC once production of the current model ends.
We know that Nissan does want to keep the Z alive from comments made by Philippe Klein, Nissan's chief planning officer back in January.
As of right now, your guess is as good as ours.
Source: Autocar

The fate of the Nissan Z has been up the air for a number of years. One minute, it seems the Z will be killed off. The next, Nissan is figuring out how to keep the Z alive. This brings us neatly to a report from Autocar which says a new Z car is expected in 2020. But after reading this report, we have some questions as to the validity of this information.
According to "senior officials from Nissan," the new Z car has the codename of Z35 and will share a number of components with the Infiniti Q60 Coupe including the rear-drive platform and engines. Using the Q60's platform would make the Z a bit larger - the Q60's length is 17 inches longer and the wheelbase is about a foot longer.
Power will come from a twin-turbo 3.0L V6 engine from the Q50 and Q60 producing 400 horsepower. There will also be a high-performance NISMO model that will use a re-tuned version of the twin-turbo V6 to produce 475 horsepower and be paired with an all-wheel drive system.
But this report has a huge red flag.
Emphasis ours. The issue is that there will not be a 2018 Tokyo Moto Show. It is a bi-annual auto show. The last one took place in 2017, meaning the next one will not happen till 2019. This also puts a red flag on the reveal of the production model at the 2019 LA Auto Show.
This report comes a week after another rumor about the Z car was debunked. Japanese site Response reported that Nissan has asked their partner Mercedes-Benz on developing a new Z car. Using a Mercedes-Benz platform, the new Z would be offered with two engines. A 2.0L turbo-four from Mercedes as the base and the twin-turbo V6 from Infiniti. But as Japanese Nostalgic Car notes in their report, "the automotive rumor mill in Japan is like 1990s Motor Trend on crack." The partnership between Nissan and Diamler hit a rough patch earlier this year as Reuters reported that Infiniti would not use Mercedes' MFA2 modular platform due to cost issues. The new QX50 which was supposed to be the Infiniti vehicle to use this new platform would instead use its own unique platform.
Motor Trend would deliver the final nail in the coffin of this rumor. According to their sources, Mercedes and Nissan did talk about the possibility of working together on a new platform that would be shared between the Z and SLC roadster. But these talks reportedly went nowhere. Also, Mercedes is planning to kill off the SLC once production of the current model ends.
We know that Nissan does want to keep the Z alive from comments made by Philippe Klein, Nissan's chief planning officer back in January.
As of right now, your guess is as good as ours.
Source: Autocar

The new Honda Accord has been lauded by the automotive press for its design, improved ride and interior, and noticeable increases in fuel economy. In fact, the Accord has been named North American Car of the Year. But dealers are struggling to move the new Accord off lots.
In February, sales of the Accord dropped 15.8 percent when compared to the year before. According to Automotive News, inventory levels of the Accord stood at a 104-day supply at the beginning of this month - very high by Honda's sparse count. Some dealers have been turning away shipments from the Marysville, Ohio plant.
"Where lease is heavy, like Florida, New York, Ohio and California, that's where we're getting hurt. When you get two cars as close as they are, it's not that much better than the Camry that people are going to pay $50, $60 [or] $80 more a month," said Rick Case, CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group.
One of Case's dealers in Florida has more than 600 Accords in stock, about 200 more than its usual stock. They have turned away some Accords in January an February. Sources told Automotive News that dealers in the Miami area have turned down around 1,000 Accords since they have too many sitting on their lots.
One reason is how consumers are trending towards to crossovers over midsize sedans. But dealers who spoke with Automotive News say there is another reason - the lack of attractive leasing options. The new Accord has a higher starting price than the previous-generation model which in turn raises the price of a lease. Honda's website lists a 36-month lease for the base Accord LX at $249 per month with a $3,199 down payment. Meanwhile, Toyota is offering a 36-month Camry LE lease in the Detroit area for $229 per month with a $1,999 down payment. In other regions, the Camry deal becomes even sweeter. In the Miami area, Toyota is offering a 36-month Camry LE lease for $199 per month with a $3,198 down payment.
The various accolades and high-quality that have been key Accord attributes aren't working at the moment.
"The quality gap has narrowed between the domestics, Honda and Toyota. When you're buying a car, you have a great story to tell a customer. When you're leasing, they say, 'Well, it has at least three years of warranty on it.' They're just renting it anyway. It is an uphill battle," said a Honda dealer in the Detroit area.
Dave Conant, owner of Conant Auto Retail Group which has four Honda dealers in California says he understand why Honda isn't throwing money at the Accord at the moment due to big investment to get it on the road. But he wouldn't be shocked if the automaker offers some sort of incentive support, especially in terms of leases later in the year.
"I'll be surprised if we don't see some help in April or May. They're not going to let the car sit on the lot. Without the incentive support, the payment from the car [that customers are] trading to the new one — the gap is too large. They need to do something to bring that closer, and the car will start selling and leasing well again," said Conant.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

The new Honda Accord has been lauded by the automotive press for its design, improved ride and interior, and noticeable increases in fuel economy. In fact, the Accord has been named North American Car of the Year. But dealers are struggling to move the new Accord off lots.
In February, sales of the Accord dropped 15.8 percent when compared to the year before. According to Automotive News, inventory levels of the Accord stood at a 104-day supply at the beginning of this month - very high by Honda's sparse count. Some dealers have been turning away shipments from the Marysville, Ohio plant.
"Where lease is heavy, like Florida, New York, Ohio and California, that's where we're getting hurt. When you get two cars as close as they are, it's not that much better than the Camry that people are going to pay $50, $60 [or] $80 more a month," said Rick Case, CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group.
One of Case's dealers in Florida has more than 600 Accords in stock, about 200 more than its usual stock. They have turned away some Accords in January an February. Sources told Automotive News that dealers in the Miami area have turned down around 1,000 Accords since they have too many sitting on their lots.
One reason is how consumers are trending towards to crossovers over midsize sedans. But dealers who spoke with Automotive News say there is another reason - the lack of attractive leasing options. The new Accord has a higher starting price than the previous-generation model which in turn raises the price of a lease. Honda's website lists a 36-month lease for the base Accord LX at $249 per month with a $3,199 down payment. Meanwhile, Toyota is offering a 36-month Camry LE lease in the Detroit area for $229 per month with a $1,999 down payment. In other regions, the Camry deal becomes even sweeter. In the Miami area, Toyota is offering a 36-month Camry LE lease for $199 per month with a $3,198 down payment.
The various accolades and high-quality that have been key Accord attributes aren't working at the moment.
"The quality gap has narrowed between the domestics, Honda and Toyota. When you're buying a car, you have a great story to tell a customer. When you're leasing, they say, 'Well, it has at least three years of warranty on it.' They're just renting it anyway. It is an uphill battle," said a Honda dealer in the Detroit area.
Dave Conant, owner of Conant Auto Retail Group which has four Honda dealers in California says he understand why Honda isn't throwing money at the Accord at the moment due to big investment to get it on the road. But he wouldn't be shocked if the automaker offers some sort of incentive support, especially in terms of leases later in the year.
"I'll be surprised if we don't see some help in April or May. They're not going to let the car sit on the lot. Without the incentive support, the payment from the car [that customers are] trading to the new one — the gap is too large. They need to do something to bring that closer, and the car will start selling and leasing well again," said Conant.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)